This invention relates generally to techniques of reducing or eliminating pain by application of infrared irradiation, and, more specifically, to methods and apparatus for monitoring the effects of such treatment as it is being conducted.
Infrared irradiation and low energy lasers are widely used as treatment devices for a number of medical conditions. Photons of energy are delivered to tissue below the surface of the skin without causing adverse effects of superficial heating of the skin. Raising the temperature of internal damaged tissue is thought to promote healing by increasing blood flow and stimulating the immune system. Nerves have also been treated by directing penetrating radiation through the skin at acupuncture sites in order to treat suspected causes of chronic pain. The primary technique for determining whether such treatment has been successful is to evaluate reports of the patient as to whether the pain has subsided.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved techniques for evaluating and treating nerves with penetrating infrared irradiation in order to normalize their function thereby alleviating chronic pain.
It is another object of the present invention to provide improved techniques for determining the effect of the treatment.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished, briefly and generally, by treating nerves at known acupuncture sites with electromagnetic radiation, preferable non-coherent electromagnetic radiation in the infrared range of the spectrum. A large number of conditions that cause pain are able to be treated in this manner. Monitoring the treatment while it is occurring is accomplished by observing live thermal images of the temperature patterns of the afflicted area, which responds when the condition has been successfully treated by the photon stimulation.
Treatment sites along a nerve supplying the afflicted region of pain are treated one at a time, beginning with the site closest to the region and then proceeding away from the region along the identified nerve. As soon as the monitored thermal image changes in a manner to indicate the nerve has responded to stimulation, the procedure is terminated, continued treatment being unnecessary. This real time feedback to the attending physician of the effect of the treatment provides him or her with objectification of response to stimulation and eliminates unnecessary additional treatments. Without such feedback, the attending physician must complete applying infrared irradiation to all chosen sites along the specific nerve and then wait for a subjective report from the patient as to whether the pain has decreased or gone away. Although the unnecessary further treatments are not known to cause any harm, they would extend the duration and cost of the treatment. It is usually desirable to repeat the treatment several times, at intervals of at least several hours to several days. During such repeated treatments, the attending physician need expose only those sites determined by the thermal imaging of the first treatment to be sufficient.
One specific application of the present invention is in the treating of an extremity (hand or foot) in which the patient is experiencing pain, such as the continuous diffuse limb pain of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). In this case, the nerve sites of one of the painful extremities and the other contralateral extremity is treated and the corresponding region of the extremity not being treated is imaged by high-resolution telethermographic instrumentation. As soon as the attending physician notes that the temperature of the monitored extremity has changed, treatment of the other extremity may be terminated. No other sites along an identified nerve are treated after the temperature change takes place.
Additional objects, advantages and features of the various aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of its preferred embodiments, which description should be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.